hfavr@mtuxo.UUCP (a.reed) (01/29/86)
The following is an unedited excerpt from an article that came in on the ARPA Internet "Poli-Sci Digest" of Thursday, 23 Jan 1986 (Volume 6 : Issue 1) ....It seems to me that we might start by trying to emulate the sense of cooperativeness and community spirit that I saw in so many Nicaraguans. Not only did they seem to share the goals and ideals of the Sandanista government; their easy acceptance of the sacrifices that the government and party was compelled to ask of them gave them an air of serenity and peace that I can remember seeing only in very religious people, nuns and priests, at home. If we could just achieve that outlook and attitude, we would find that many things that we now value would seem unimportant. They would certainly not seem worth fighting colonial wars to preserve. Take "freedom of the press," for instance. As a journalist I have been taught that this was sacred, but after thinking about it, I believe that a completely free press is necessary only if the people and the government are adversaries. After return from up-country, I spent a half-day at the offices of MENTIRA (Movimiento Estadistica Nicaraguenza para Tasar Igualdad Racia'l en las Americas) a private civil rights organization sympathetic to the Sandanistas. I raised the question of censorship of La Prensa, the right wing paper, even though my visit took place before the suspension of free speech President Ortega was compelled to proclaim a few days later. MENTIRA was headquartered in a small set of basement rooms, which my hosts told me had been gay night club before the Revolution. It was pleasantly decorated with patriotic posters, although somewhat run down. (Incidentally, Madison gays will be interested to know that MENTIRA members assured me that there is no discrimination against homosexuals in Nicaragua, and that many Nicaraguan gays had actually rethought their sexual preferences under the new government.) The important thing to understand about the extensive censorship of La Prensa is that the only articles the government asks the editors to omit are the ones that would upset the people or which attempt to separate them from their close relationship with Sandinismo by advocating selfish narrow individualistic values at the expense of the community. I thought the large white spaces on the front page of La Prensa gave a light airy feeling to the paper's page make-up. In the same way, I think it might be time to rethink some of the legalistic values that seem so important to some people in this society, but which serve mainly to give employment to lawyers. One of these notions that I was raised to value is due process. While I was up-country, I bicycled through the sleepy little city of Jinotega (pop. 15,000) just at the time the Army was executing 13 Miskito Indians for treason. I stopped and chatted with one of the sentries after the execution had been carried out. He was very unassuming and friendly and teased me when I couldn't remember the words for "firing squad." (Peloto'n de fusilamiento.) There had been no need for witnesses or lawyers at the military trial, he said. A very respected young officer had brought them in, and explained to the court martial that they had given aid and comfort to the U.S.-backed contras. ....